NFL – Philly Fast and Furious

Is this the next big wave in the NFL? Can Chip Kelly make believers of us all? The Philadelphia Eagles set the tone in their game against Washington and the results were good. What we have to be asking ourselves is how NFl Defensive coordinators will react to this new facet of offensive strategy in the NFL.

If you were watching the Eagles vs Redskins game it was obvious that the Eagles offense gave the Redskins fits. Few substitutions, little time to adjust, no time to recover between plays. When it was rolling the Eagles created plays. But it’s also pretty obvious that the pace of the offense is also hard on offensive players. The Eagles ran 53 plays in one half and starting running back LeSean McCoy wasn’t used to that kind of demand. More than once he had to take a breather. But according to Chip Kelly, incredibly, the pace wasn’t fast enough.

“We could have sped things up from a process between plays,” Kelly said. This is bad news for any teams facing the Eagles.

We’ll get another look at this new offense when the Eagles take on the San Diego Chargers this week. After all, any new system takes time for opponents to digest. What I’m wondering is how much wear and tear this offense will put on the players who have to run it. The offensive linemen, the running backs, the wide receivers, all have to run a massive amount of plays and expend that energy the whole time. Can it continue to be effective throughout a 16-game NFL season and into the playoffs?

The Chargers had a good offensive outing for awhile in their game against the Texans but gave it up in the second half. Will Philip Rivers and the offense play it slow to give their defense time to recover? If a team like the Chargers comes out and scores consistently will Kelly slow his offense down to eat the clock? Sometimes playing slowly is better. All these questions and more will be answered over the course of the next 15 games but the Philadelphia Eagles have to be causing some sleepless night in San Diego ans elsewhere in the NFL.